# Retired PAF officer says F-16s struggled in Operation Sindoor 2026-08-13T13:23:43+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Pakistan's ageing US-supplied F-16 fighter jets faced significant limitations during the four-day Operation Sindoor in May 2025, a retired Pakistan Air Force officer told Military Watch Magazine. The F-16s' AIM-120C-5 missiles have an effective range of only about 100 km against manoeuvring targets, forcing cautious deployment. India's Su-30MKIs and Rafales could engage from longer range, the officer said. The report highlights growing gaps in Pakistan's fleet, as older American jets lag behind newer Chinese ones like the JF-17 Block III and J-10C, which carry longer-range PL-15 missiles (estimated 300 km). Pakistan claimed to have shot down multiple Indian Rafale fighters, but India has strongly denied these losses; the claims remain unverified. Operation Sindoor was India's military response to the 22 April Pahalgam attack in which 26 civilians were killed. ## Coverage - livemint.com Tags: Chinese aircraft, F-16, India-Pakistan conflict, missile range, Operation Sindoor, Pakistan Air Force Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/retired-paf-officer-says-f-16s-struggled-in-operation-sindoor/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/retired-paf-officer-says-f-16s-struggled-in-operation-sindoor/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.